Baby supporter and exerciser



Jan. 13, 1959 J. DFPOOLE EIAL 2,868,272.

BABY SUPPORTER AND EXERCISER Filed April- 16, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 wan-runs JOSEPH D. POOLE SUSAN v O. POOLE zww.

--1 1959 J. D. [POOLE ET AL 2,868,272

BABY SUPPORTER AND EXERCISER Filed April 16, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (NVFLNTORS JOSEPH D. POOL E SUSAN O. POOLE ATTORN United States Patent Ofiice 2,868,272 Patented Jan. 13, 1959 BABY SUPPORTER AND uxuncrsun Joseph D. Poole, Granthams Landing, British Columbia,

and Susan 0. Poole, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Application April 16, 1954, Serial No. 423,644

6 Claims. (Cl. 15517) This invention relates to a device for supporting and/ or exercising a baby.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a device which will hold a baby off the floor and yet will permit it to exercise itself by moving around.

Another object is the provision of a device for exercising the legs of a young baby without the legs carrying his weight.

Yet another object is the provision of a device for holding a baby and which will allow him to move around within a circle with a three or four feet diameter without the necessity of a retainingwall or screen.

A further object is the provision of a device for firmly supporting a baby while leaving his legs, arms and head free to move and permitting him to turn around.

This supporter and exerciser is intended to hold babies without injury which are not yet strong enough to sit up on their own. It has been found very useful for babies from three and a half to fourteen months old. It firmly supports the baby around the body by leaving his legs, arms and head free for movement so that he is able to get all the exercise he needs. It may be adjusted so that the childs legs touch the floor, in which case he can turn around and exercise the legs preparatory for walking. The exerciser may be so suspended that the baby can jump up and down, and this provides a great deal of amusement as well as exercise.

A baby supporter and. exerciser according to this invention includes a waistband to fit snugly around a babys body, and a seat suspended from the waistband formed by a crotch band extending from the back to the front of the waistband. Straps in any desired form extend upwardly from opposite sides of the waistband for supporting the latter and its seat. One end of the crotch band is preferably fixedly secured to the waistband and its opposite end releasably connected thereto.

The upper ends of the straps may be connected to any suitable supporting means. However, in the preferred form of the invention a spreader extends between the straps at a point spaced above the waistband sufficiently to clear the head of a baby in the latter, and a resilient suspender is connected to the spreader and the straps.

Examples of this invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the baby supporter and exerciser, Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof,

Figure 3 is aplan view of the device,

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the waistband with the crotch band hanging down in the open position.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of an alternative form of the invention, and

Figure 6 is a side elevation of this alternative.

Referring to Figures 1 and 4 of the drawings, 10 is a waistband formed of any suitable material. One desirable way of making this waistband is to form it with sides 11 and 12 made of elastic material, and front and back panels 13 and 14 made of non-stretchable material,

such as cloth. A seat 17 is suspended from the waistband, and is in the form of a crotch band 18 extending from the back to the front of the waistband. In this example, one end of the crotch band is secured to the back panel 14, as indicated at 20, and the opposite end thereof is releasably secured to the front panel 13. For this purpose, the front panel may be provided with one or more rows of domes 22, there being two of these rows shown in Figure 4, while the end of the crotch band is provided with cups 23 to fit over the domes. The plurality of rows of domes provides for adjustment of the effective length of the crotch band relative to the waistband.

The crotch band 18 may be formed of any suitable material, and it may have a padded section 25 substantially midway between the ends thereof. This band may be formed of a waterproof plastic material, or if not, it may be covered by a plastic sleeve 27 which can be slipped on and off the free end of the band.

Supporting straps 30 and 31 extend upwardly from the waistband 10 adjacent opposite sides thereof. These straps may be in the form of tapes, or, as shown, they may consist of ropes. In this example, the strap 30 consists of a rope having its opposite ends extending outwardly through holes in the front and back panels 13 and 14 of the waistband near the top thereof, each end having a knot 33 thereon. This rope has a snap 35 connected thereto substantially midway between its ends and, as preferred, a swivel 36 may be located between the rope and this snap. Similarly, tape 31 consists of a rope having it opposite ends extending outwardly through holes in the front and back panels of the waistband and having knots 38 on said ends. The snap 41]) is connected by a swivel 41 to the rope midway between the ends thereof.

The support described so far may be used by itself, in

which case the tapes 30 and 31 may be secured to any suitable supporting means by means of the snaps 35 and 40. However, it is preferable to provide a support for thi device consisting of a cord 45 having its ends extend-. ing through holes 4-6 at the opposite ends of a spreader 47, said ends having loops 48 secured thereto. The snaps 35 and 40 may be connected to these loops, and the spreader keeps the upper ends of the tapes 30 and 31 spaced apart. The spreader is positioned high enough above the waistband 10 to clear the head of a baby sitting in the latter. A snap 50 may be connected to the cord 45 midway between the ends thereof by a swivel 51.

It is obvious that the cord 45 or snap 50 may be connected to any suitable support. It is preferable to provide a resilient suspender 55 for holding the entire apparatus. In this example, the suspender is formed of a strong resilient length of rubber having a hook 56 and ring 57 secured to its opposite ends. The snap 50 may be connected to ring 57, while hook 56 may be connected to a suitable support. One way of doing this is to provide a chain 58 and a hook 59, the latter depending from a suitable support, not shown. Any desired link of this chain may be fitted over book 59, while hook 56 fits into the lowermost link. The device may be adjusted up and down by shifting the links of chain 58 on book 59.

When it is desired to use the device described, the suspender 55 is connected up to a suitable support, and the snap 5t) hooked on to ring 57. The baby may be seated on the crotch strap 18 with the band 10 fitting snugly around his waist. The crotch strap holds him up, while the band supports his body without interfering with the movement of his legs, arms and head. Each. of the straps 30 and 31 extends in the form of an inverted V from the back of the waistband 10 to the front thereof and prevents the band and seat from tipping forward or backward. The baby may be supported clear of the fioor, but it is preferable to lower the device sufficiently to enable him to touch the floor with his feet so that he is able to jump up and down and even walk around in his small circle while the Weight of his body is supported by the seat. The resilient suspender will encourage a child to bounce around, thus exercising most parts of his body without danger of injury.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate an alternative form of the invention. The waistband 10 and crotch band 18 forming the seat are substantially the same. In this example, the supporting straps are in the form of tapes 60 and 61 sewn at their opposite ends to the front and back of the waistband near the opposite sides thereof. The tapes are formed with loops 62 and 63 midway between the ends thereof. These loops fit over a spreader 65 having stops 66 at its opposite ends for preventing the tape loops from sliding off said ends. The spreader has a notch 68 in its lower edge midway between the ends thereof, and a resilient suspender 70 in the form of a coil spring has a loop 71 at its lower end fitting around the spreader and in this notch. An open 100p 73 at the upper end of the suspender is hooked into a chain 74 having one of its links caught by hook 75 depending from a suitable support.

The exerciser of Figures 5 and 6 functions in the same Way as that of Figures 1 to 4. The main difference lies in the fact that in the alternative form of the invention, the spreader 65 carries the weight of the child on the seat 17 within the Waistband. In the first described form of the invention the cord 45 takes the full weight of the baby, while the spreader 47 merely holds the upper parts of straps and 31 apart.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A baby supporter and exerciser comprising a wide A waistband to fit snugly around a babys body, said waistband including wide front and back panels formed of non-stretchable material and sides formed of elastic material secured to and extending through adjacent ends of the panels, said wide panels supporting and protecting the front and back of the baby while the elastic material retains said panels firmly against the baby, a crotch band secured to the front and back panels, straps secured directly to the front and back panels adjacent the ends thereof and extending upwardly therefrom, a spreader extending between the straps spaced above the waistband sufliciently to clear the head of a baby in the latter, and a resilient suspender connected to the spreader and the straps.

2. A baby supporter and exerciser comprising a wide waistband to fit snugly around a babys body, said waistband including wide front and back panels formed of non-stretchable material and sides formed of elastic material secured to and extending through adjacent ends of the panels, said wide panels supporting and protecting the front and back of the baby while the elastic material retains said panels firmly against the baby, a crotch band secured to the front and back panels, straps secured directly to the front and back panels adjacent the ends thereof and extending upwardly therefrom, a spreader,

a flexible cord having 1ts opposite ends extendmg through the spreader near the ends thereof, said cord ends being connected to the straps, and a resilient suspender con nected to the cord centrally thereof.

3. A baby supporter and exerciser as claimed in claim 2 in which each end of the cord has a loop connected thereto and the straps have snaps removably connected to the loops.

4. A baby supporter and exerciser comprising a waistband to fit snugly around a babys body, said waistband including wide front and back panels formed of nonstretchable material and sides formed of elastic material secured to and extending through adjacent ends of the panels, said wide panels supporting and protecting the front and back of the baby while the elastic material retains said panels firmly against the baby, a crotch band secured to the front and back panels, a spreader, straps secured directly .to the front and back panels adjacent the ends thereof and extending upwardly therefrom over the spreader near its opposite ends, stops on the ends of the spreader and projecting upwardly therefrom for preventing the straps from slipping off said ends, and a resilient suspender connected to the spreader centrally thereof.

5. A baby supporter and exerciser comprising a waistband to fit snugly around a babys body, said waistband including wide front and back panels formed of non stretchable material and sides formed of elastic material secured to and extending through adjacent ends of the panels, said wide panels supporting and protecting the front and back of the baby While the elastic material retains said panels firmly against the baby, a crotch band secured to the front and back panels, a horizontal spreader having a notch in its lower edge midway between the ends thereof, straps secured directly to the front and back panels adjacent the ends thereof and extending upwardly therefrom over the spreader near its opposite ends, stops on the ends of the spreader and projecting upwardly therefrom for preventing the straps from slipping off said ends, a vertically-arranged resilient suspender, and a loop secured to the lower end of the suspender, said loop extending around the spreader and fitting in the notch thereof.

6. A baby supporter and exerciser comprising a wide waistband to fit snugly around a babys body, said waistband including wide front and back panels formed of non-stretchable material and sides formed of elastic material secured to adjacent ends of the panels, said wide panels supporting and protecting the front and back of the baby while the elastic material retains said panels firmly against the baby, a crotch band secured to the front and back panels, straps secured directly to the front and back panels adjacent the ends thereof and extending upwardly therefrom, a spreader spaced above the waistband sufficiently to clear the head of a baby in the latter, means connecting the straps to the spreader near the ends thereof, and a resilient suspender connected to the spreader and the straps.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 132,021 Prescott Oct. 8, 1872 730,726 Williams June 9, 1903 806,157 Martin Dec. 5, 1905 955,954 Emerick Apr. 26, 1910 1,390,502 Clouser Sept. 13, 1921 2,645,271 Call July 14, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 554,085 France Feb. 23, 1923 

